Using hydrogen as a supplemental fuel in motor vehicle engines has been proposed to increase the performance of the engine. When using hydrogen and oxygen as part of the air-fuel mixture for the engine, the performance of the engine increases, including increasing the mileage (e.g., miles per gallon (MPG)) and/or reducing the emissions of the engine. The hydrogen gas may be generated through electrolysis of an aqueous solution. The hydrogen gas may be referred to as monatomic hydrogen (HHO) gas, or “Brown Gas,” which is created by electrolysis by separating H2O into molecules by passing an electrical current through water or an aqueous solution. Electrolysis is a method of using an electric current to drive an otherwise non-spontaneous chemical reaction. Electrolysis is commercially highly important as a stage in the separation of elements from naturally occurring sources such as ores using an electrolytic cell. The three main components required to achieve electrolysis are 1) a liquid containing mobile ions, also referred to as an electrolyte; 2) an external power source of direct electric current; and 3) two electrodes.
One conventional system, described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,231,954, filed Jan. 18, 2005, describes an electrolyzer having an electrolysis chamber and a rack with an anode and a cathode and alternating supplemental electrodes.
Another conventional hydrogen generating system is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,336,430, filed Jun. 29, 1998. This conventional hydrogen generating system includes an electrolysis cell for generating hydrogen and oxygen gases by electrolysis of an aqueous solution, a power source for providing electrical power to the electrolysis cell, and an outlet flow means for introducing the generated gases into the intake manifold system of an internal combustion engine. The electrolysis cell has a cylindrical shaped case of polyvinyl chloride and an electrode assembly having a series of bipolar electrode plates between an anode and a cathode, held together by polypropylene bolts and nuts. The electrode plates are a series of alternating parallel anodes and cathodes joined together by means of bridging straps, and the outside cathode and anode electrode plates are connected to the positive and negative supply from the motor vehicle system via an adapter. The U.S. Pat. No. 6,336,430 also describes that the series of bi-polar electrodes could be concentric circular electrodes.
The conventional system described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,336,430 also includes a controller for monitoring the operating conditions of the hydrogen generating system and for controlling parameters of the hydrogen generating system to control its operation in response to the monitoring. U.S. Pat. No. 6,336,430 describes the controller monitoring parameters of the hydrogen generating system, including the level of aqueous solution, temperature of the solution, engine vacuum, and pressure in the gas supply line. In response to negative inputs for these parameters, the controller turns off the hydrogen generating system. The controller can also regulate the electrical power provided to the electrolysis cell, controlling the amount of hydrogen to be generated, as well as the power provided to a pump to control the flow rate of the pump, if the pump is included as part of the system.